How to best see & photograph all 4 Hawaii Islands in 15 days (Hilo: fit in, rentals)

[manishbit]

Greetings everyone !!

...I am back again after a long hiatus, with another crazy itinerary request, this time for Hawaii.

We are a family of 3, which includes a 5 yr old boy, still planning a 15 day trip, having almost decided to cover ALL the 4 islands.

We will be there in the first 2 weeks of Sep and need advice on how to best cover these 4 islands.

I love driving and photography, with my main interests being Nature, Hikes, Scenic drives, Volcanoes, Night Photography (stars, milky way) and fun places for a family

Some specific questions:
1. I am flying from East coast and planning to cover Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Big Island, in that order. Is there anything specific I should consider, apart from the inter island flight cost and how many days should I keep for each island. I TOTALLY understand that even 1 week maybe less for EACH island, but 15 days is ALL that I have.
2. Keeping in mind Sep first 2 weeks, which parts of the 4 islands should I be staying at, to avoid rain and more importantly save on accommodation cost
3. What kind of accommodation would be least expensive? I will be taking rentals at all islands and don't mind staying inland to keep the costs low
4. Night photography is a top priority for me and I am looking for specific dark areas which would be best...for most of these I will be going alone - Haleakala, Mouna Kea for sure, which others ?
5. What are the absolute must see photographic places for - Waterfalls, Mountains, Beaches, anything picture postcard like, across all 4 islands ?
6. What would be a best family place/s in each island, something that my son would like?

Overall I would also like to keep the costs at a minimum, so any other pointers would be greatly greatly Appreciated.

....As I have always mentioned earlier, this Forum has always, always helped me plan out my trips efficiently...so Thanks in advance to all

Can't wait to hear from all of you....

- Manish

[Molokai100]

Hey Manish,
My first impression of your itinerary is its way too ambitious. You have 15 days...not sure if those include your flight in and out but you can pretty much take 4 more travel days out of the 15 for your inter-island travel days. So that leaves you with less than 3 days for each island. Doesn't sound like a vacation...sounds like an airport marathon. If I were you I would focus on one island. Any of the islands will present you with more than enough stellar photo ops.
Lots of major airlines fly directly to Maui. Go there...skip Oahu. There are tons of beaches and family opportunities and Haleakala should give you all the night work you want. The Kaupo side and Hana are plenty dark as well.
Big Island might have more available and cheaper accommodations right now but the vog can be bad these days. If you are feeling super adventurous then Volcano Village might present some great bargains right now. A friend told me the air is clean up there under normal trades. Lots of lava photo ops and two big mountains within an hour would be great for nighttime.
Just my 2 cents

[Jungjohann]

I read your theoretical itinerary, and am going to take a nap.



Your vacation is exhausting

[terracore]

The Big Island is larger than all the other islands combined and the sites and sights are pretty much evenly geographically scattered throughout it's 4000 square miles.



You would need 15 days just to experience this one island, therefore my recommendation is to drop it off your list and focus on the other 3...but your premise is wrong. Hawaii has more than 4 islands.



When you are visiting Maui take the Mokulele flight to Molokai. Lots of beauty there.

[hotzcatz]

There's way more than four Hawaiian islands, but we'll continue on to the itinerary - as has been mentioned, it's a bit of a busy schedule.

If it were me, I'd drop Oahu off the list. Mostly since it's so urban that it takes awhile to get out of the city or anywhere and there's less and less nature left. No night time photography there unless you want city lights.

If you want volcanoes, that would be Hawaii island (aka 'the big island'). That's the only one with a live volcano on it, although all the islands are volcanic in origin. At the moment, the lava viewing is a bit problematic since that's either by boat or helicopter. They're working on a safe spot somewhere on land to view lava, but so far there isn't one. The lava boats are now staying further away from the lava ocean entry since a lava bomb landed on a tour boat last week.

Scenic drives on Hawaii Island would be up and around the Kohala mountain road, along the Hamakua coast, as well as Saddle road. I think they just named it, but everyone still calls it Saddle road. There's probably a number on it, too, but nobody pays attention to those.

Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island should keep you busy with loads of scenic drives, photography and hiking.

[Molokai100]

Originally Posted by terracore

When you are visiting Maui take the Mokulele flight to Molokai. Lots of beauty there.

An overrated flight

[Farmer Larry]

Unless there is something you really need to see on Oahu you will be much happier on the other islands. The Pearl Harbor Memorial was shut recently and needs repairs which may take a while. Having a child will limit what you can do so 4 or 5 days on Kauai should be enough especially if the north shore is still closed to tourists after the floods. Maui is the gem and 6 or 7 days there will be time well spent, I like to go to Maui for at least 2 weeks at a time. The Big Island is amazing and I will spend more than 5 days there next time. There are places to grill food at many beaches and I bring a mix of spices in a shaker and grill up fish and other things and save a lot of cash so I can stay longer. If you stay in a condo there are grills at the pool and utensils in your condo to take to the beach to grill. Lunch is cheaper than dinner at restaurants and grilling on the beach at sunset is very nice. On the weekends the locals are at the beach and it can be crowded so plan accordingly. Get up early and enjoy the peace and quiet at sunrise, the crowds later in the day make everything more difficult. And above all pull over and let locals pass you on the road especially in the early morning when people are going to work, nothing you can do will get more thank you shakas than that. If your dates are not set yet try to time your stays near the beach so you are there when tides are low in the early morning, the beach is much more enjoyable when tides are low. Don't leave the top down if you rent a convertible rain can happen suddenly, I have seen many cars getting soaked over the years. And be cautious with the sun ,after dark you will see the red lobster people come out who got a nasty sunburn and ruined their vacation.

[Ian_Lee]

Nothing is cheap in Hawaii.

And if you skip Oahu as fellow posters suggested, it is even harder to stretch your dollar because many items like food and gas are more expensive in the neighboring islands than Oahu.

For the time being, IMO you should skip Big Island since the Hawaii Volcanic National Park has been closed permanently. Go visit the island after the lava flow stops.

The best family stay in Oahu is Aulani Disney Resort at Ko Olina. But likely it does not fit into your budget.

[67Cam]

As a vacationer currently on the big island I would disagree with the previous posters suggestion to skip it because Volcano park is closed. That is just one small part of a very large, diverse island.

Last week we spent 7 days on the Hamakua coast (north eastern side), which is a lush, verdant rain forest. How lush? There are ferns and other plants growing out of the tops of fence posts. Waipao valley is an amazing site and there are plenty others.

We went to Waimea a few times and the area was rolling hills/grasslands, ranches and other interesting sites. It reminded us a bit of the foothils of the Sierra Nevada in some parts of California.

We also spent 2 days and a night on the west side, which was decidedly dryer and hotter. Beautiful beaches and cultural sites. The wild black goats standing on the black lava rocks surrounded by tan grass is a sight to see on the way down to Kona from Waimea.

Now we're back on the East side, south of where we were before, enjoying the beautiful ocean parks outside of Hilo. The drive from Kona to Hilo over the saddle road goes from near sea level to over 6000 feet then back down to sea level. The change in environments is stunning.

You don't need one big giant event/attraction to find photographic opportunities. If your good, you can find them just about anywhere. I took these with my iphone (I am not a pro, obviously).

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Ian_Lee

Nothing is cheap in Hawaii.

And if you skip Oahu as fellow posters suggested, it is even harder to stretch your dollar because many items like food and gas are more expensive in the neighboring islands than Oahu.

For the time being, IMO you should skip Big Island since the Hawaii Volcanic National Park has been closed permanently. Go visit the island after the lava flow stops.

I'd disagree on the nothing is cheap in Hawaii - the beach is free after all.

But, I do agree on skipping the Big Island. While there seems to be some die hard visitors - there is a reason it is not a highly visited island. The other islands are far more stunning from a beach and visual perspective. BI is more the poor mans version of Hawaii.

If you have to check the box and go - do a day trip. Flights start around 5am and end around 9pm, plenty of time to see the island in its entirety. It just isn't worth spending the night - the hotels are awful on the Hilo side and the resorts on the Kona side don't have good beaches.....